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Analysis of Economic Growth and the Competitive Environment

The World Bank’s 2026 Europe and Central Asia Economic Update raises an important issue: sustaining high economic growth over the long term requires more than investment alone — businesses must also be able to enter markets, expand their operations, and compete effectively. According to the report, Uzbekistan’s regulatory environment indicators are higher than those of several countries in the region, but remain below the average for high-income economies and the European Union. At the same time, notable progress has been made in certain administrative procedures. For example, obtaining a construction permit in Uzbekistan takes less than two weeks, while connecting a business to the electricity grid takes approximately two weeks. However, the quality of the business environment is not measured solely by the speed of obtaining permits. The World Bank emphasizes that market entry and exit mechanisms, competitive neutrality between state-owned enterprises and private businesses, access to finance, customs procedures, and infrastructure quality also directly affect business activity and firm development. For example, inefficient bankruptcy and insolvency procedures that make it difficult for underperforming firms to exit the market slow the reallocation of capital and labor to more productive companies. This issue is particularly important for Uzbekistan’s economy. At the next stage, the objective is not merely to increase the number of new businesses, but to create conditions that enable productive firms to grow faster. This requires reducing barriers to market entry while also ensuring a level playing field for state-owned and private enterprises, expanding access to capital, and improving mechanisms that allow inefficient businesses to exit the market.